Referendum Update

Our top priority is to ensure safety and minimize disruptions to learning during the construction process. 

The district will work closely with a construction management company to complete as much work as possible in the summer and during the school year, outside of school hours. If construction is taking place during school hours, temporary partitions and redirecting traffic will help separate students from work areas.

All construction workers will wear identification and follow school security protocols. All contractors must also undergo New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) background checks.

The district does not anticipate expanding the pre-kindergarten program in the near future. The priority is to move the current pre-kindergarten program to La Grande Elementary School to free up space in the elementary schools and maintain class sizes for K-4 students. 

The district currently enrolls 152 students in the pre-kindergarten program. The district is required by law to provide pre-kindergarten for students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment possible, which often means having general education peers in the classroom. SPF’s current half-day, tuition-based pre-kindergarten program allows parents of general education students to enroll their children in the program through a lottery system.  

Even once La Grande Elementary School opens, the district would need significantly more space to accommodate universal full-day pre-kindergarten for all eligible children in Scotch Plains and Fanwood.

Pre-kindergarten students with a disability who are required to have busing will still receive that service; general education pre-kindergarten students do not currently receive busing and will not receive busing in the future.

Since purchasing La Grande Elementary School in May 2025, the district has focused on plans to renovate the first floor of the building. This will allow the district’s pre-kindergarten program to move into the first floor for the start of the school year in September 2026. 

The district is still deciding how to best use the second and third floors of the building and could base those decisions on student population growth and available district funds. In the meantime, the second flood may be a space for conferences or offices, with no renovations needed

Space in Scotch Plains-Fanwood Public Schools is at a premium. The referendum provided a short-term solution to move pre-kindergarten students into La Grande Elementary School, freeing up nine classrooms in four out of the five elementary schools. Each school will determine how to use those open classrooms, with a focus on maintaining class sizes.

The district can only spend the bond proceeds on the projects outlined in the state-approved proposal and must adjust the plans and reprioritize the projects to fit into the budget if costs come in higher.